According to a recent report from Taiwan Economic News, the Amazon phone is real, and Foxconn won an exclusive contract to make the device. The bill of materials is allegedly going to be anywhere between $100 and $200, which frankly doesn’t tell us much. The number we want to focus on is 5 million. That’s supposedly how many smartphones Amazon wants Foxconn wants to make for them in 2013.

When will this so called Amazon phone be announced? The report says somewhere between the second quarter and the third quarter. Put another way, that’s any time between April and September.

We know that Amazon is working on a smartphone.

We just don't know when it will be released and what the name will be.

There is already a Samsung phone called the Blaze, so I wouldn't bet on that being the name.

I'm perfectly happy with my Nexus 4. Paying $40 a month less than when I was with Verizon, contract free, and my phone only cost me $100 more than an on contract phone. No bloatware from carriers either.

There is already a Samsung phone called the Blaze, so I wouldn't bet on that being the name.

I'm perfectly happy with my Nexus 4. Paying $40 a month less than when I was with Verizon, contract free, and my phone only cost me $100 more than an on contract phone. No bloatware from carriers either.

I have been meaning to order one, but waiting for weeks, and weeeeeeeeks for it to be delivered made me reconsider. If the Amazon phone has TTS and an eink panel on the back, and comes without a contract or SIM lock in quad-band, I'm sold!

The devil is in the details (the calling plan). There are plenty of nice smartphones out there but I haven't seen a contract that meets my requirements (equivalent to the prepaid plan I currently have). I'm hopeful that Amazon can come up with something disruptive.